BBC Radio: Trump’s Outrageous Statement on “China Raping America”

I spoke with BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday about Donald Trump’s latest verbal outrage, combining a provocative challenge to China with a misogynistic statement that Beijing is “raping” the US in trade.

Host Adrian Chiles and I speak about the potential damage both to Trump’s campaign — noting that he not yet clinched the Republican nomination, let alone faced Hillary Clinton in the contest for the White House — and to US foreign policy. There’s even a plaintive note about those who have compared The Donald to Ronald Reagan in 1980: “If only Trump was Reagan.”

Before and after the discussion, Stephen McDonell joins the conversation to present the view from China.

About The Author

Scott Lucas is Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran. Formerly he worked as a journalist in the US, writing for newspapers including the Guardian and The Independent and was an essayist for The New Statesman before he founded EA WorldView in November 2008.